The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has launched a number of joint initiatives with licensed telecommunication operators to provide services in rural areas.
The initiatives include installing 312 mobile telecommunication stations in different governorates of the sultanate to provide coverage to 410 rural areas with no mobile service coverage, and providing coverage to villages outside the operators’ domains within the scope of obligations set forth in the licences, stated a press release.
Stage one will see the installation of 200 mobile telecommunication stations with 138 of them to be operated by the joint initiative. It is expected to install an additional 62 stations during the first quarter of next year.
Stage two includes 112 mobile telecommunication stations to be installed during the period of site adoption procedures and acquiring necessary building permits. This stage is expected to be complete during the second quarter of next year.
The authority has identified a number of sites in Dhahirah, North Batinah, Buraimi, Musandam and Muscat governorates to install these stations. The initiatives were taken after TRA’s CEO and officials from the licensed telecommunication services providing companies made visits to a number of areas in the sultanate and met the governors and civil society representatives.
The authority also prepared technical field surveys and population count of these areas, all of which led to create a detailed database for the rural areas that sit outside the licensed operators’ set domains and lack telecommunication services, added the release.
TRA’s CEO Dr Hamed bin Salim al Rawahi was quoted as saying, “These initiatives come within the framework of TRA’s interest in providing telecommunication services all around Oman, so that citizens can have the privilege of these services like all other services that have been provided under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
“These initiatives also come as a response to the requests made to the authority from time to time. The government, their excellencies the governors, members of Shura Council and citizens...all had a positive role in the support of these initiatives and we thank them for that.”
The authority is working closely with a number of government bodies like the ministries of Housing, Environment and Climate Affairs, and Regional Municipalities and Water Resources to expedite procedures in facilitating building these stations. This will help avoid red tape and provide the much-needed coverage to a number of villages without much delay, added the release.
Eng Yousuf bin Abdullah al Balushi, vice president for Spectrum Affairs at TRA said the authority had issued three executive decisions on the aspects related to coverage, quality of telecommunication services, charges and consumers.
As part of initiatives related to coverage and quality of service, preparations have been made to start a comprehensive field survey for the current services and to measure the level of quality according to the set standards made by TRA.
Preparations have also been made to define areas that do not have any telecommunication coverage and are not a part of the initiative.
Necessary steps in this regard will be made in cooperation with the related government authorities. Eng Balushi added that the authority has asked all licensed companies to provide their plans for widening the coverage of their services for the coming three years within a period of two weeks.
TRA has also requested for additional details related to the plans made by the companies,